Dairy News Australia Gippsland December 2021

DECEMBER, 2021 ISSUE 134

GIPPSLAND REGION

RAIN BRINGS GAIN ... AND PAIN It’s been a very soggy spring in Gippsland. For Bundalaguah’s Justin Johnston (main picture) this means the largely irrigated farm hasn’t been watered this season, which is money in the bank for summer. For Inverloch’s Mick and Paula Hughes (inset) continuous wet weather has waterlogged their clay loam soils, caused pugging in most paddocks, and created mastitis problems.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2021

2 // GIPPSLAND REGION

Chair’s message

Time for renewal IT’S BEEN a time of change at GippsDairy,

with the retirement of Grant Williams and David Johnson from the board, and our executive officer Allan Cameron accepting a new role as CEO of the Gardiner Foundation.

Grant, David and Allan have all been great contributors to GippsDairy and strong advocates for Gippsland farmers and the dairy industry, and we thank them for their service.

I’m pleased to welcome our newly appointed directors — dairy farmers Jess Knight (Stratford) and Ken Lawrence (Jindivick), and specialist director Peter Fort (Burra Foods). We look forward to the knowledge, skills and new perspectives they will bring to the board.

It’s been a time of change on our farm too.

When COVID-19 arrived we were fortunate to have a small team of four backpackers who chose to stay on with us through the pandemic. It’s brought relative stability for the farm as well as an extended family for our three children during long periods of home-schooling.

Now that things are opening up, they have all moved on to other things — two somewhat reluctantly back to their ‘real’ jobs of surveyor

and lawyer, and two who are hoping to stay in the dairy industry and gain residency through sponsored positions in western Victoria.

Through the working holiday program, all four young people have now experienced a job they barely knew existed. When we sat down with one to debrief after her first three-month stint with us back in 2018, she said, “You know, I was the cranky one in the office that hated my job. And now I’ve had such a great time here — it actually matters whether I turn up for work because these animals are depending on me every day. I’m using my body for what it was designed for — real work.”

Not long after, I stumbled across anthropologist David Graeber and his book Bullsh#t Jobs: A Theory. Graeber proposes that there are millions of people across the world working away in meaningless, unnecessary jobs, and they know it — resulting in unhappiness and a lack of satisfaction. This of course, is different to a ‘Sh#t Job’, which might be hard or difficult, but has an essential or important purpose.

There’s no doubt that dairy farming has its days. There’s a bit of Gippsland that’s been

underwater lately, literally for some or just feeling that way due to a lack of staff or the lack of a day off. But rest assured that what we do is most definitely not a ‘Bullsh#t Job’. What better purpose in life than providing people with wholesome and nutritious food?

As someone who’s been on the other side, I believe we need to talk more about the hidden secrets of dairy farming — the sunrises and sunsets, the variety and challenge of every day, the pride of watching a calf grow, and the satisfaction of producing a vat full of top-quality milk from a paddock of lush Gippsland grass.

But most of all, remember we have what so many people crave — a genuine purpose and a very important reason to get out of bed each morning.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous new year. Let’s hope that 2022 brings a little more stability and the opportunity to gather once more.

And on those tough days don’t forget to tell yourself, “This ain’t no Bullsh#t Job!” Lauren Finger GippsDairy chair

A year’s worth of support JEANETTE SEVERS

A CALENDAR, which began as a one-off in

2016, has been produced every year since in an effort to create conversations about wellbeing, mental health and dairy business.

Every year, 1000 calendars are delivered free to dairy farmers throughout Gippsland via milk tankers, in an arrangement with milk processors.

Titled The Hands That Feed You, the calendar tells a story of 12 Gippsland dairy farmers and sometimes their families, although in 2020 the calendar carried 13 stories.

The calendar is the brainchild of Gippsland Jersey founder and co-director Sallie Jones.

The project is under the auspices of Connect Well East Gippsland and Wellington, with funding from Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services.

The 2021 calendar, The Lay of the Land, contained 12 tales of strength and resilience. This has carried through into the 2022 calendar, which returns to The Hands That Feed You banner.

“I hope the calendar is a conversation starter and provides a resource for any farmer struggling with their mental health,” Sallie said.

The free calendar contains contact information about mental health services.

One of the dairy farmers in the original calendar, Joe Meggetto, of Warragul, said it was important for farmers to talk to other farmers and to health professionals who understand farming and the issues they deal with day to day.

Sometimes it’s a matter of persisting to find the help you need.

“The first GP I saw didn’t help me,” Joe said.

“I eventually found a GP who did understand my job as a dairy farmer and my role as a husband and father.”

Joe’s story, and his wife’s story about trying to support him, was documented in Dairy News Australia in July 2019.

It was a harrowing tale that included intervention by his brother, the police and his best man, loneliness, and high-risk behaviour.

Joe has since become a spokesperson widely sought after to speak about mental health issues.

Many of the farmers who have added their stories to the calendar have been young people, some with young families. Just as many of the farmers have been mature-aged.

It’s proof that taking responsibility for your own wellbeing is not about age.

“Farm male owners and managers commit suicide at twice the rate of the national average,” Sallie said.

“While farmers are very willing to volunteer and help others, they’re often less willing to ask for help themselves.”

In the 2019–20 bushfires, many of the farmers who had figured in the calendar stepped in to help other dairy farmers who were fire-affected.

Mark Laity, of Wiseleigh, hosted several of his ‘calendar buddies’ to help remove burned fences and build new boundary fences, so he could contain his milking herd. The calendar has created a community.

If the calendar doesn’t turn up with your tanker driver, it can be ordered online through Gippsland Jersey.

“Good mental health equals regional prosperity,” Sallie said.

“At Gippsland Jersey, mental health is a key pillar of our brand. We need to create change in our society and our communities, so we don’t have suicide.”

Sallie’s father took his own life on the farm after a long battle with his mental health. He was well respected in the community and, as well as the farm, had built a successful value-added dairy business.

He left behind a bereft family who have become passionate advocates for breaking the stigma of silence around mental health and depression.

Dairy News Australia, July 2019 issue, featured a story about Joe Meggetto, who shared his battles with mental health issues.

The front cover of the 2022 calendar.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2021

GIPPSLAND REGION // 3

Taking the plunge pays off CHOOSING A career in dairy usually means

long days, early mornings and a lot of physical work.

But it also means no day is ever the same from working with animals to fixing problems that arise on a day-to-day basis - and then there is the possibility of one day owning your own a farm.

Laura McConachy had never worked on a farm before she completed a few weeks’ work experience with Julia and Phil Allen.

She now helps them run their dairy farm (which milks 220 cows in South Gippsland) full-time while doing her Certificate III in Agriculture.

“Laura was our first proper work experience student,” Julia said.

“She was in Year 10 at the time and looking for somewhere to be placed for five Wednesdays, starting the following day. She arrived at 6.30 am the following morning and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Laura enjoyed working on the dairy farm so much that after she finished her work experience, she went on to do one milking a week while finishing her VCE at Mirboo North Secondary College.

“I’ve always been a hands-on learner, but couldn’t decide what I wanted to do. But after working on the farm, I knew this is it. That’s what I want to do,” she said.

She also stayed on the farm during most of her school holidays and helped out.

“Laura’s entry to dairy has been exceptional because she has a strong work ethic, but more importantly, she is willing to have a go at anything without letting fear hold her back,” Julia said.

“She knew nothing about agriculture when she started, but she was willing and eager to try anything that we set in front of her.”

Despite having lived in the city all her life, Laura didn’t hesitate to try her hand at farming when she got the opportunity.

“I’ve never been in a cow shed before I started with Phil and Julia. My advice is to just go for it. You’ll have fails, but also great successes,” she said.

Farming is not a nine-to-five job - a typical day for Laura means she gets up at 6 am, gets the cows at 6.30 am, assists with milking and then

helps clean up. After breakfast, she feeds some of the calves and assists with any jobs that need doing on the farm.

“Every day is different. I just learned how to feed out hay to the dry cows and I enjoy the machinery side of things,” Laura said.

“Milking has been the most challenging thing for me so far. In particular recognising mastitis. But I feel more confident now and I have great support.

“Julia and Phil are always very approachable.

They’re forthcoming with their knowledge which helps me do my job better.”

Taking on a trainee is a big step but can also be very rewarding.

“Laura has been a great addition to our operation,” Julia said.

“She is punctual, reliable, dedicated, uses her initiative and is enthusiastic to learn all she can.

“She listens carefully, takes things in, but always asks when she’s not sure and will readily speak her mind as she believes communication is key to any successful working relationship.

A model trainee really.”

Getting your foot in the dairy industry door can simply mean milking once a week to start off with. The career opportunities are varied and there’s something for everyone.

“There are so many areas you can go into.

I enjoy AI and ultrasound for example, and I’m undertaking AI training as part of the traineeship,” Laura said.

“Trainees can be difficult to have until they have their (driver’s) licences, but if you are willing to give a little and help them along, they can be the injection of youth that your business really needed,” Julia said.

“After two years of remote learning for the children of this 2021 cohort, a lot of them are looking for hands-on learning and work-life experiences.

“Going to university in our current environment isn’t all that appealing. If they are keen and willing, give them a go.”

Work experience turned in to a stepping stone to a future in dairy for Laura McConachy.

LINKS AND RESOURCES ■

Certificate III in Agriculture: bit.ly/Cert3Agriculture

■

Careers in the dairy industry: bit.ly/DairyCareersOverview

■

A list and helpful resources on everything you need to get

employed (and to employ someone): thepeopleindairy.org.au/ For further assistance with dairy careers or traineeships, contact Sarah Cornell at GippsDairy on sarah.cornell@ gippsdairy.com.au or 0437 400 316.

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DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2021

4 // GIPPSLAND REGION

It’s been an ‘ugly’ spring

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

THIS SEASON is a tough one for Mick and

Paula and Mick Hughes have joined more of their heifers and cows to beef bulls, in response to market demand.

Waterlogged paddocks favoured once-a-day milking, with the cows having 24 hours to graze and minimal need to move them.

Mick Hughes had to deal with mastitis problems in the herd. Production dropped by 12 per cent but has clawed back to four per cent below normal.

Paula Hughes.

The couple milk a seasonal-calving 500-head herd of Friesian-cross cows once a day on their dairy farm at Inverloch, in South Gippsland.

“Spring from the end of September onwards has turned ugly,” Mick said.

The farm’s milking platform is 150 hectares of low lying and flat land in a high rainfall pattern. There’s also a 120 ha leased run-off farm used to grow out heifers and harvest surplus fodder.

The reliable rainfall pattern helps grow enough surplus pasture for Mick to normally harvest 1200 to1800 tonnes of pit silage each year, along with wrapped bales.

Continuous wet weather through winter and spring this year has waterlogged their clay loam soils, caused pugging in most paddocks, and created mastitis problems.

Mick often uses a helicopter to distribute fertiliser across the property in early spring, but this year he had to rely on trucks, which carved up paddocks, creating more pasture damage.

“At least 25 per cent of the farm will need renovating, and a lot of the farm will need oversowing or resowing of some sort,” he said.

“We ran out of silage in the winter. We banked on having normal pasture growth, which would again generate a surplus for us.

“Pasture growth rates have been one-third of normal. We think we might have enough grass for the herd now, with wind and warmer weather starting to dry the ground.

“We’ve had that much rain, I stopped reading the rain gauge.”

It’s the second wet spring in two years, but last year Mick was able to harvest silage in November. That hasn’t happened this year.

“All last year’s pit silage was eaten during autumn and winter,” he said.

With production down by 12 per cent, Mick had to be agile in how he approached running the business.

“We had to buy in 130 tonnes of hay to get through.”

Managing grazing in mud While he used the calving pad effectively and successfully to calve down the herd, most fodder was fed in the paddock. It led to wastage, of course.

“We managed to find a dry part of the paddock to feed hay,” Mick said.

“When it was really wet, we opened up paddocks for the cows to graze.

“We’d open up the paddocks a bit, and then we tightened up the rotation — it’s a vicious

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GIPPSLAND REGION // 5

circle and as soon as we thought we were on top of it, it comes in wet again.

“Once the cows were milked, though, they had 24 hours access to grass, so they weren’t being moved unnecessarily.”

He’s also unable to access the outblocks to cut silage. So he’s been innovative.

“We’re actively outsourcing fodder. We’ve sourced some standing grass locally. Quality will be an issue, because of the amount of rain damage,” Mick said.

“We’ll cut all the local grass for pit silage.”

He’s sourced hay from northern Victoria.

Milk production dropped Production dropped by 12 per cent during the worst conditions, with mastitis affecting the herd.

Production has now improved to be four per cent below normal.

“We’re confident we can claw that back,” Mick said.

About 35 cows were sold, 25 of them culled because of mastitis. He managed the herd with teat dip and seal.

He maintained a daily grain ration of 4 kg/cow, fed in the dairy.

“We haven’t done the costings yet, but we’re pretty confident we’ll do all right.

“We’re trying a British White over our heifers this year.”

The British White bull and five Jersey bulls ran with 175 heifers on the outblock. The cows ran with British White, Speckle Park and Friesian bulls.

“This year we sold about half our bobby bull calves privately,” Mick said.

“The beef cross and Friesian calves are very popular. Jersey calves go straight to the bobby calf market.”

Beef-cross heifers are retained and grown out to four months old, then sold through their livestock agent.

Mick Hughes with some of the pit silage he harvested in spring 2020. Unfortunately, an ‘ugly’ season this year means it was all eaten in winter and he had to buy 150 tonnes of hay to feed his milking herd.

Spreading the risk Mick and Paula ran more of their beef bulls with the heifers and cows this joining season.

They began joining British White bulls with their cows and have added Speckle Park bulls, along with the traditional Friesian and Jersey.

“We ended up with about 30-odd beefcross calves as a trial, and reared 30 of them,” Mick said.

Mick Hughes runs British White, Speckle Park and Friesian bulls with his cows, and British White and Jersey bulls with his heifers.

Calving was successful, despite the weather this year.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2021

6 // GIPPSLAND REGION

Rain is money in the bank

BY JEANETTE SEVERS

THIS SEASON is shaping up well for the John-

Justin Johnston is the fifth generation of his family to operate a dairy farm. He is in partnership with his parents, Robert and Lynette.

ston family at Bundalaguah, in Gippsland.

Despite heavy rain and storms, steady rainfall means the largely irrigated farm hasn’t been watered this season, which is money in the bank for summer.

As well as a significant cost saving — pumping water to irrigate pasture is 60 to 70 per cent of the farm costs — not needing to access the irrigation allocation means there will be additional waterings available in the hotter months of summer.

This is an important consideration.

Irrigation entitlement for many dairy farmers in the Macalister Irrigation District comes out of Glenmaggie Weir, which has spilled regularly in recent months. At the time of writing, that spill entitlement extended until November 30, in an irrigation season from August 15 to May 15.

Even if the spill entitlement was not extended beyond November 30, every irrigator who had high-reliability water shares tied to Glenmaggie Weir received a reset for their full allocation on December 1.

That provides security.

“Since August 15, we’ve had 100 per cent high-reliability allocation. Normally I would’ve

irrigated for 20 days up to today,” Justin Johnston said in late November.

“Even if I water today and they don’t extend the spill period after this weekend’s expected rain, I’ll still get my full [high-reliability water shares] entitlement for the rest of the season.”

So Justin’s been out in the tractor every fine day, making as much wrapped silage as possible.

“It’s money in the bank,” he said.

“This year everything has lined up. Heifers export price is good, milk price is good, chopper cow and meat prices are good, and there’s plenty of grass around.”

It’s less than two years since one of the worst droughts to affect the Gippsland region.

The long years of drought followed the dairy crisis, when Murray Goulburn — which had a strong footprint in the MID — pulled the rug out from under many dairy farmers’ business security.

The Johnston family is still recovering from drought, and it’s this kind of weather in their country — rain, and plenty of it — that helps recovery. Especially for a young couple.

Justin Johnston and Shorna Ross farm alongside his parents, Robert and Lynette, and uncle, John.

The herd grazes 397 hectares of milking area, on an irrigated farm of 486 ha. Irrigation licences enable them to access 450 Ml from the

The herd is split-calving and a new shed is being built to improve the calf rearing system.

Robert and John Johnston are responsible for milking the herd in the 20 double-up dairy.

Production has peaked at 34 litres/cow/day this season.

Using the water pump and centre pivot irrigation claims 60 to 70 per cent of farm energy costs.

Regular rainfall has meant a significant cost saving.

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2021

GIPPSLAND REGION // 7

Lake Glenmaggie system and 1600 Ml from a bore. Centre pivot irrigation enables 243 ha to be watered. The remaining irrigated country is irrigated using fixed sprinklers.

The wash-down water used in the 20 double-up dairy is captured in a holding pond and used to irrigate the surrounding 15 ha of grazing paddocks.

Justin and Shorna own 49 ha of flood irrigated farmland across the road, where they harvest fodder and raise heifers for the export market and to go back into the herd.

The milking herd are all registered Holstein cows, under the Glomar prefix.

The split-calving herd is joined with artificial insemination, sexed semen and embryo transfer. The calves are genomically tested for bull markets.

Changing the business model Justin is the fifth generation of the Johnston family to operate a dairy farm. He hopes that he and Shorna’s toddlers, Jace and Ivy, are the sixth generation.

The farm has sustained 780 milking cows over the long term, but decisions were made during the drought to drop numbers back to 650 head.

The family will continue to reduce the herd size to 450 cows.

“It takes a bit of pressure off. Dad and John can milk the herd in a couple of hours. No-one is working as hard,” Justin said.

Lynette hasn’t been forgotten. Lynette is the chief calf rearer, and a new shed is being built for her and should be operational for autumn calving, beginning in February.

“The design will incorporate a new purpose-built calf shed holding about 280 calves,” Justin said.

“We want calf rearing to be easier and more streamlined.”

Heifer calves are raised for the export dairy market and some bull calves are raised to sell as potential sires.

Production in a grass-based system Production has been good in the nearly two years post-drought.

“We peaked at 34 litres/cow/day this year,” Justin said.

“We’ve nearly finished spring calving and 30 per cent of autumn calvers are drying off. We’re averaging 26 litres/day/cow at the moment.”

The production figures are earned on genetics, grass and 4 kg of grain/cow/day.

“With seasonal change, and cool weather in the past two years, we scrapped the idea of having a summer crop. Instead we focus on resowing pasture,” Justin said.

He locked in the fertiliser price early in the year, so he knew how much he was paying when it landed on the farm. Fertiliser was spread across the farm throughout July to September.

There are still 1000 wrapped bales left over from last year’s silage harvest. The back paddock — dryland — yielded 244 bales of wrapped pasture silage last year. So far Justin has harvested 538 rolls of pasture silage off that block this season.

“We grazed it for five days, then locked it up.

We’ll get another cut of silage off it this year.”

Justin Johnston is in his element making silage and renovating pasture, optimising the grass-fed basis of the dairy business.

He wraps everything, rather than pit the silage, for ease of operation.

During drought and the past two years of COVID-19 pandemic, the family re-strategised their business model.

It included reducing herd size and looking at how to ease back on the workload, while still maintaining production. One of the decisions was to stick with wrapped silage.

“There’s ease and flexibility in using wrapped bales. It means anyone can go get a bale and feed it to the cows,” Justin said.

“If silage is in a pit, it’s a lot harder work to extract it, and limits who can do that job.”

HAVE YOUR SAY ON DAIRY’S FUTURE Did you know all levy paying dairy farmers across Australia will be able to vote on the level of the dairy service levy early next year?

Make sure you’re informed on what the voting options are and what they mean for you, your farm business and the industry.

Justin Johnston is making silage when the sun shines, capitalising on regular rain and building up fodder reserves.

To find out more, visit dairypoll.com.au

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2021

8 // GIPPSLAND REGION

Wet weather dampens returns GEOFF ADAMS

CHALLENGING SEASONAL c o n d i -

tions contributed towards lower earnings for Gippsland farmers in the 2020-21 year, but milk production was constant and return on total assets was among the better results in 15 years.

The figures come from Agriculture Victoria’s Dairy Farm Monitor Project, which follows 25 Gippsland dairy farms and assesses their performance each year.

Average earnings before interest and tax for Gippsland participant farms was $1.78/kg milk solids in 2020-21, a 14 per cent decline from $2.07/kg MS in 2019-20.

Participants employed a range of management strategies to maximise income and reduce costs despite a reduced milk price, higher herd and shed costs and higher overhead costs.

In 2020-21, farms achieved on average a return on total assets of 5.4 per cent, the fifth highest in the 15-year history of the project.

The project found Gippsland participants maintained herd size and stocking rate while milk production performance (kilograms of milk

solids) per cow and per hectare remained steady.

Stocking rate was stable at 1.9 cows/ha, as was usable area at 186ha.

The very wet conditions in spring 2020 and winter 2021 impacted on the ability of farmers to harvest silage and hay.

“Farmers had to manage wet soils appropriately for grazing whilst mitigating damage to pastures,” the Dairy Farm Monitor Project report said.

“As a result of these conditions there was a reduction of home-grown feed as a percentage of ME consumed, down to 66 per cent from 68 per cent last year.

“Labour efficiency per cow remained relatively similar at 122 cows/FTE compared to 121 cows/FTE last year.”

The top 25 per cent performing farms in Gippsland had a larger herd size of 330 cows, higher stocking rate of 2.1 cows/ha, and higher labour use efficiency per cow and per hectare.

Variable seasonal conditions across dryland Gippsland reduced the ability to effectively graze pastures and harvest hay and silage. There were considerable periods of wet and dry conditions at crucial times in the season.

Gippsland farmers saw a drop in earnings in 2020-21, thanks to difficult weather conditions.

Good water availability in the Macalister Irrigation District enabled participants to maximise direct grazing of pasture this season.

Spring 2020 rainfall events in south and west Gippsland left some soils saturated and provided a challenge to harvest pasture either by direct grazing or by conservation.

Lower amounts of pasture were conserved for silage or hay this year.

A reasonable early break occurred in autumn 2021, but rainfall was only sufficient to maintain green pastures and provide good consistent growth until winter 2021.

Source: Agriculture Victoria

Victoria-wide average farm earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to $422,000 ($1.86/kg MS), from $346,000 ($1.68/kg MS) in 2019-20.

Livestock trading profit increased, fodder inventory increased and costs decreased. Milk price for participants decreased by five per cent to an average of $6.76/kg MS across the state.

The average return on total assets also increased to 5.7 per cent in 2020-21, from 5.4 per cent in 2019-20.

The higher asset values, particularly from growth in land values, constrained the ROTA in 2020-21.

Source: Agriculture Victoria